Exeter Hospital billed $42g for hep C testing clinics

Thursday

Apr 18, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Jim Haddadinjhaddadin@fosters.com

EXETER — New Hampshire health officials have billed Exeter Hospital approximately $42,000 for costs incurred during a series of hepatitis C testing clinics last fall for former patients, according to a spokeswoman.

In August, the Department of Health and Human Services asked all patients who underwent procedures in Exeter Hospital’s operating room or were admitted to the intensive care unit between April 2011 and May 25, 2012, to get tested.

The move came as health officials continued to investigate an outbreak of hepatitis C among former patients. David Kwiatkowski, a hospital technician, was arrested in July and accused of spreading the disease to 32 patients under his care.

In the wake of the outbreak, DHHS initially called for all patients who were treated in Exeter Hospital’s cardiac catheterization laboratory around the time Kwiatkowski was employed there to be tested. The pool of patients was expanded in August to include those who were treated in the OR and the ICU — a group comprising an additional 3,505 people.

Of that number, 2,675 were tested at a series of clinics held during multiple days in Stratham, Plaistow, Manchester and Rochester. Free testing was also available at Exeter Hospital and sites affiliated with Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

As the clinics got under way last year, DHHS Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas said the state was tracking all spending on equipment, supplies, transportation and public safety costs. At the time, Toumpas said DHHS planned to reimburse cities and towns that provided assistance.

As costs began to add up, Sen. President Peter Bragdon and Majority Leader Jeb Bradley released a statement calling on the commissioner to ensure that no taxpayer money was ultimately used to foot the bill for the clinics.

“Taxpayers should in no way be expected to shoulder the costs of these tests,” the statement read. “Those responsible for the Hepatitis-C outbreak, in particular Exeter Hospital, need to assume full responsibility for all costs — not taxpayers. Everyone agrees this is an unprecedented health disaster for New Hampshire. We just want to make certain the human concerns and financial consequences are both dealt with properly.”

In an email Wednesday, DHHS spokeswoman Kris Neilsen said the testing costs associated strictly with the public health clinics is approximately $42,000, and Exeter Hospital has agreed to be billed for the expenses.

DHHS is still compiling a full accounting of all costs related to the hepatitis C investigation, which included testing an additional 1,072 of the 1,214 patients treated in the cardiac catheterization laboratory between Oct. 1, 2010 and May 25, 2012. Ninety one employees were also tested.

In total, 3,838 people have been tested for hepatitis C in connection with the outbreak, according to the most recent data compiled by DHHS, which was prepared by the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control on Feb. 1, 2013.

Thirty-two people have tested positive for strains of hepatitis C identical to the one carried by Kwiatkowski, according to DHHS. Another 47 people were found to be carrying strains of the disease unrelated to the outbreak.

Additionally, 56 people showed signs that they were previously infected with hepatitis C, but cleared the virus from their bodies naturally.

DHHS is expected to release a full report on the outbreak later this month. It will include a breakdown of all costs, as well as information related to the public health investigation, the response by DHHS and recommendations regarding how to avoid another outbreak in the future.